The new year has begun with a grim milestone for US immigration enforcement, as four individuals died while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) within the first ten days of 2026.
A Pattern of Deaths Amid Record Detention
According to official government releases, the four fatalities occurred between 3 and 9 January. They involved two men from Honduras, one from Cuba, and another from Cambodia. This follows a devastating year in 2025, when at least 30 people died in ICE detention, marking the highest death toll in two decades.
The Trump administration's policy of ramping up deportations has led to a significant increase in migrant detention. As of 7 January, ICE was holding approximately 69,000 people, a number anticipated to grow further after a massive infusion of funding from the US Congress.
Details of the Recent Custody Deaths
ICE provided details on the four individuals who died. Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban national, died on 3 January at the Camp East Montana detention site in Texas. ICE stated he had become disruptive, was placed in isolation, and was later found in distress before being pronounced dead.
The two Honduran men, Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres, 42, and Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz, 68, died in hospitals in Houston and Indio, California, on 5 and 6 January respectively. ICE attributed both deaths to heart-related issues.
Parady La, a 46-year-old Cambodian man, died on 9 January at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia. Officials said his death followed severe drug withdrawal symptoms.
Criticism and Official Response
Advocacy groups have reacted with horror to the latest deaths. Setareh Ghandehari, advocacy director at the Detention Watch Network, described the high number of fatalities as "truly staggering" and called for detention centres to be shut down.
In response, US Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin argued that the death rate has remained consistent with historic norms despite the growing detention population. "As bed space has expanded, we have maintained a higher standard of care than most prisons that hold US citizens — including providing access to proper medical care," McLaughlin said.
The administration has also greatly reduced the number of migrants released from detention on humanitarian grounds, a move critics say pressures vulnerable individuals to accept deportation.
In a separate but related incident that has sparked nationwide protests, an ICE officer fatally shot a mother of three in Minnesota last week, adding to the escalating tensions surrounding the agency's operations.
